,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cdbb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,june #ba1 #bjai,mr4 
,grothman 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,steil1 and
 ,mr4 ,gallagher7 introduced the        
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,education and ,labor 
,a ,,bill  ,to amend the ,higher        
,education ,act of #aife to clarify     
competency-based education4  #a4 ,short 
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,competency-,based ,education ,act of   
#bjai or the ,,cbe ,act of #bjai4  #b4  
,regulatory relief  7a7 ,repeal  7#a7   
,definition of credit hour ,the         
definition of the term credit hour in   
section #fjj4b of title #cd1 ,code of   
,federal ,regulations1 as added by the  
final regulations published by the      
,department of ,education in the        
,federal ,register on ,october #bi1     
#bjaj 7#ge ,fed4 ,reg4 #ffidf74  7#b7   
,effect of repeal ,to the extent that   
regulations repealed by paragraph 7#a7  
amended regulations that were in effect 

on ,june #cj1 #bjaa1 the provisions of  
the regulations that were in effect on  
,june #cj1 #bjaa1 and were so amended   
are restored and revived as if the      
regulations repealed by such            
subparagraph had not taken effect4  7b7 
,credit hour ,the ,secretary of         
,education shall not1 on or after the   
date of enactment of this ,act1         
promulgate or enforce any regulation or 
rule with respect to the definition of  
the term credit hour for any purpose    
under the ,higher ,education ,act of    
#aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja et seq474    
#c4 ,definitions ,section #ajc of the   
,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj   
,u4,s4,c4 #ajjc7 is amended by adding at
 the end the following3  7#be7          
,competency-based education2            
competency-based education program  7,a7
 ,competency-based education ,except as 
otherwise provided1 the term            
competency-based education means        
education that-- 7i7 measures academic  
progress and attainment--  7,i7 by      

direct assessment of a student's level  
of mastery of competencies2  7,,ii7 by  
expressing a student's level of mastery 
of competencies in terms of equivalent  
credit or clock hours2 or  7,,iii7 by a 
combination of the methods described in 
subclauses 7,i7 or 7,,ii7 and credit or 
clock hours2 and  7ii7 provides the     
educational content1 activities1 and    
resources1 including substantive        
instructional interaction1 including by 
faculty1 and regular support by the     
institution1 necessary to enable        
students to learn or develop what is    
required to demonstrate and attain      
mastery of such competencies1 as        
assessed by the accrediting agency or   
association of the institution of higher
 education4  7,b7 ,competency-based     
education program ,except as otherwise  
provided1 the term competency-based     
education program means a postsecondary 
program offered by an institution of    
higher education that-- 7i7 provides    
competency-based education1 which upon a

 student's demonstration or mastery of a
 set of competencies identified and     
required by the institution1 leads to or
 results in the award of a certificate1 
degree1 or other recognized educational 
credential2  7ii7 ensures title ,,iv    
funds may be used only for learning that
 results from instruction provided1 or  
overseen1 by the institution1 not for   
the portion of the program of which the 
student has demonstrated mastery prior  
to enrollment in the program or tests of
 learning that are not associated with  
educational activities overseen by the  
institution2 and  7iii7 is organized in 
such a manner that an institution can   
determine1 based on the method of       
measurement selected by the institution 
under subparagraph 7,a77i71 what        
constitutes a full-time1 three-quarter  
time1 half-time1 and less than half-time
 workload for the purposes of awarding  
and administering assistance under title
 ,,iv of this ,act1 or assistance       
provided under another provision of     

,federal law to attend an institution of
 higher education4  7,c7 ,competency    
defined ,in this paragraph1 the term    
competency means the knowledge1 skill1  
or ability demonstrated by a student in 
a subject area4  4  #d4 ,general        
provisions relating to student          
assistance  7a7 ,definitions of academic
 year and eligible program ,section #dha
 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife
 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajhh7 is amended--     
7#a7 in subsection 7a71 by adding at the
 end the following3  7#c7 7,a7 ,for the 
purpose of a competency-based education 
program the term academic year shall be 
the published measured period           
established by the institution of higher
 education that is necessary for a      
student with a normal full-time workload
 for the course of study the student is 
pursuing 7as measured using the value of
 competencies or sets of competencies   
required by such institution and        
approved by such institution's          
accrediting agency or association7 to   

earn--  7i7 one-quarter of a bachelor's 
degree2  7ii7 one-half of an associate's
 degree2 or  7iii7 with respect to a    
non-degree or graduate program1 the     
equivalent of a period described in     
clause 7i7 or 7ii74  7,b7  7i7 ,a       
competency-based education program that 
is not a term-based program may be      
treated as a term-based program for     
purposes of establishing payment periods
 for disbursement of loans and grants   
under this title if--  7,i7 the         
institution of higher education that    
offers such program charges a flat      
subscription fee for access to          
instruction during a period determined  
by the institution2 and  7,,ii7 the     
institution is able to determine the    
competencies a student is expected to   
demonstrate for such subscription       
period4  7ii7 ,clause 7i7 shall apply   
even in a case in which instruction or  
other work with respect to a competency 
that is expected to be attributable to a
 subscription period begins prior to    

such subscription period4  7iii7 ,in a  
case in which a competency-based        
education program offered by an         
institution of higher education is      
treated as a term-based program under   
clause 7i71 the institution shall review
 the academic progress of each student  
enrolled in such program in accordance  
with section #dhd7;c71 except that such 
review shall occur at the end of each   
payment period4  2 and  7#b7 in         
subsection 7b71 by striking paragraph   
7#d7 and inserting the following3  7#d7 
,for purposes of this title1 the term   
eligible program includes a             
competency-based program that--  7,a7   
has been evaluated and approved by an   
accrediting agency or association that--
 7i7 is recognized by the ,secretary    
under subpart #b of part ,h2 and  7ii7  
has evaluation of competency-based      
education programs within the scope of  
its recognition in accordance with      
section #dif7;a77#d77;,c72 or  7,b7 as  
of the day before the date of enactment 

of the ,,cbe ,act of #bjai1 met the     
requirements of a direct assessment     
program under section #dha7;b77#d7 7as  
such section was in effect on the day   
before such date of enactment74  4  7b7 
,student eligibility ,section #dhd of   
the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife    
7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajia7 is amended-- 7#a7 
in subsection 7b71 by adding at the end 
the following3  7#f7 ,for purposes of   
competency-based education1 in order to 
be eligible to receive any loan under   
this title for an award year1 a student 
may be enrolled in coursework           
attributable only to #b academic years  
within the award year4  2 and  7#b7 in  
subsection 7c7-- 7,a7 in paragraph      
7#a7--  7i7 in subparagraph 7,b7-- 7,i7 
by striking the student has a cumulative
 and inserting the following3 the       
student has--  7i7 a cumulative2  2     
7,,ii7 by striking the second and       
inserting each2  7,,iii7 by striking the
 period at the end and inserting 2 or2  
and  7,,iv7 by adding at the end the    

following3  7ii7 for the purposes of    
competency-based programs1 a non-grade  
equivalent demonstration of academic    
standing consistent with the            
requirements for graduation1 as         
determined by the institution1 at the   
end of each such academic year2 and  2  
and  7ii7 by adding at the end the      
following3  7,c7 the student maintains a
 pace in his or her educational program 
that--  7i7 ensures that the student    
completes the program within the maximum
 timeframe2 and  7ii7 is measured by a  
method determined by the institution    
which may be based on credit hours1     
clock hours1 or competencies completed4 
2  7,b7 in paragraph 7#b71 by striking  
grading period and inserting evaluation 
period2 and  7,c7 by adding at the end  
the following3  7#d7 ,for purposes of   
this subsection1 the term maximum       
timeframe means-- 7,a7 with respect to  
an undergraduate program measured in    
credit hours1 a period that is no longer
 than #aej percent of the published     

length of the educational program1 as   
measured in credit hours2  7,b7 with    
respect to an undergraduate program     
measured in competencies1 a period that 
is no longer than #aej percent of the   
published length of the educational     
program1 as measured in competencies2   
7,c7 with respect to an undergraduate   
program measured in clock hours1 a      
period that is no longer than #aej      
percent of the published length of the  
educational program1 as measured by the 
cumulative number of clock hours the    
student is required to complete and     
expressed in calendar time2 and  7,d7   
with respect to a graduate program1 a   
period defined by the institution that  
is based on the length of the           
educational program4  4  7c7            
,recognition of accrediting agency or   
association ,section #dif of the ,higher
 ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4
 #ajii;b7 is amended-- 7#a7 in          
subsection 7a77#d7--  7,a7 in           
subparagraph 7,a71 by striking and at   

the end2 and  7,b7 by striking          
subparagraph 7,b7 and inserting the     
following3  7,b7 such agency or         
association demonstrates the ability to 
review1 evaluate1 and assess the quality
 of any instruction delivery model or   
method such agency or association has or
 seeks to include within its scope of   
recognition1 without giving preference  
to or differentially treating a         
particular instruction delivery model or
 method offered by an institution of    
higher education or program except that1
 in a case in which the instruction     
delivery model allows for the separation
 of the student from the instructor--   
7i7 the agency or association requires  
the institution to have processes       
through which the institution           
establishes that the student who        
registers in a course or program is the 
same student who participates in1       
including1 to the extent practicable1   
testing or other assessment1 and        
completes the program and receives the  

academic credit2 and  7ii7 the agency or
 association requires that any process  
used by an institution to comply with   
the requirement under clause 7i7 does   
not infringe upon student privacy and is
 implemented in a manner that is        
minimally burdensome to the student2 and
  7,c7 if such an agency or association 
evaluates or assesses the quality of    
competency-based education programs1 the
 agency's or association's evaluation or
 assessment--  7i7 shall address        
effectively the quality of an           
institution's competency-based education
 programs as set forth in paragraph     
7#e71 except that the agency or         
association is not required to have     
separate standards1 procedures1 or      
policies for the evaluation of          
competency-based education2  7ii7 shall 
establish whether an institution has    
demonstrated that its program satisfies 
the definitions in section #ajc7be72 and
  7iii7 shall establish whether an      
institution has demonstrated that it has

 defined an academic year for a         
competency-based program in accordance  
with section #dha7;a77#c74  2  7#b7 in  
subsection 7c77#a71 by inserting or     
competency-based education after        
distance education2  7#c7 in subsection 
7n77#c71 by inserting 1 or              
competency-based education programs1    
after each occurrence of distance       
education courses or programs2 and  7#d7
 by adding at the end the following3    
7r7 ,waiver ,the ,secretary shall       
establish a process through which an    
agency or association may seek to have a
 requirement of this subpart waived1 if 
such agency or association--  7#a7      
demonstrates that such waiver is        
necessary to enable an institution of   
higher education or program accredited  
by the agency or association to         
implement innovative practices intended 
to--  7,a7 reduce administrative burdens
 to the institution or program without  
creating costs for the taxpayer2 or     
7,b7 improve the delivery of services to

 students1 improve instruction or       
learning outcomes1 or otherwise benefit 
students2 and  7#b7 describes the terms 
and conditions that will be placed upon 
the program or institution to ensure    
academic integrity and quality4  4